Denver Isaacs
30 April 2008
Windhoek — NEITHER disciplinary nor criminal action seems likely in an alleged rape that was reported at the State Psychiatric Hospital in Windhoek in February.
Police say their investigation of the case, although currently awaiting the decision of the Prosecutor General, could not conclude that the 21-year-old mentally handicapped woman had been raped by another patient, a prisoner.
According to Police spokesperson sergeant Stephan Nuuyi, the Police's investigation had been hampered by the fact that there were no eyewitnesses and neither the suspect nor the alleged victim was able to give admissible statements on what had happened because of their mental state.
Nuuyi said when asked about the incident the suspect had only replied that he had been "hungry", while the woman's only response to questions was to laugh.
"From our investigations, it seems there was no sexual intercourse. They seem to have only been found together in the room," he said.
The nurse assigned to watch over the woman had apparently left her alone for a while to collect medicine, Nuuyi said.
When the incident was first reported in February, a family member of the alleged victim said the family had been informed by a doctor dealing with the case that the suspect had admitted to the crime.
How the suspect gained access to the room in which the woman was held is still not known.
Prisoners are supposed to be locked up under Police guard in a separate forensic psychiatric section of the hospital.
Asked last week about a separate investigation into the matter by the Health Professions Council of Namibia, the Assistant Registrar of the Council, Cornelius Weyulu, said this had not yet been completed.
The case was to be discussed by a preliminary investigating committee when they next met, Weyulu said, but added that more information was still being gathered.
"We've obtained quite a lot of information, but there is more we are trying to collect.
What seems to be defeating us already, however, is that if it is rape, it would be a criminal matter," he said, adding that they would have to wait for the Police investigation to be completed.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Namibian. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
